Heat has a memory—and a new theoretical framework can track it

Heat, it turns out, has a memory. A cooling cup of coffee may not seem particularly thoughtful. At the scale of a kitchen, heat appears to follow a straightforward rule: it moves from warmer places to cooler ones. Leave the cup unattended long enough, and the disappointing result offers convincing evidence that this rule works.

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Quantum control algorithm looks to explain how birds migrate

The hidden world of quantum mechanics exists at scales many orders of magnitude smaller than living organisms, yet scientists have long theorized that quantum effects play an important role in biology. Birds’ ability to sense magnetic fields during migration is one of the best-known mysteries in this field, with leading theories suggesting that this sensing could be achieved by exploiting quantum entanglement.

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The biggest black hole merger ever observed could be less massive than it appears

Gravitational waves are ripples in spacetime created when pairs of black holes spiral into each other and eventually merge. But if this ripple has been warped by another massive object on its way to Earth, a new analysis suggests that these black holes might appear far larger than they really are.

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1 killed, 2 officers among 6 wounded in shooting at downtown Minneapolis apartment building

The FBI joined local and state authorities responding to the shooting at an apartment building near the Minneapolis Convention Center

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Trapped light generates nanoscale magnetization

Using an engineered metasurface that traps light, Cornell researchers have demonstrated a new way to generate strong static magnetic fields without using external magnets or magnetic materials—an approach that could advance spintronics, quantum and photonic computing, and data storage.

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Making superconductors thinner can change how they accommodate magnetic fields

What happens when a superconductor becomes so thin that electrons can no longer behave as if they were moving through an ordinary three-dimensional piece of metal? This question has been at the center of my recent work on quantum confinement in metallic films. Over the past few years, I have been developing this line of theory with my colleague Giovanni Ummarino at Politecnico di Torino. Our initial goal was to understand something rather concrete: Why does shrinking the thickness of a superconducting film change the temperature at which superconductivity appears?

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Hubble tracks new decagon encircling Saturn’s south pole

Recent observations with NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have revealed a giant, evolving, 10-sided atmospheric wave encircling Saturn’s south pole. This discovery marks the first time a large, regular-sided jet pattern has been observed in the planet’s southern hemisphere. The feature appears remarkably similar to Saturn’s famous hexagon at its north pole but is also distinctly different, suggesting scientists may be witnessing a new atmospheric phenomenon developing on the iconic gas giant.

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PACMAN AI framework for controlling fusion systems safely makes key decisions in milliseconds

Inside some fusion energy systems, particles hotter than the core of the sun can become unruly in a few thousandths of a second, far faster than any human operator can react. A new software framework developed by researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) and Princeton University hands those split-second decisions to artificial intelligence (AI), while keeping the machine safe and humans firmly in charge of the goals.

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Sept 2, 2026 – Why was NASA-USAF pilot shown “real UFO” on closed circuit TV?

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Cluster’s final reentry strengthens data for safer, more sustainable satellite design

The Cluster mission danced its final dance as Tango reentered the atmosphere Sept. 1 at 11:30:31 p.m. CEST. The end of the Cluster mission in 2024 marked the start of the reentry data-collection campaign. After four targeted reentries, this is now a proven method of safe end-of-life disposal. It also enabled repeated observation of the reentries by a plane full of scientists, creating a unique reentry data set that will improve our understanding of the destructive process and inform the design of safer, more sustainable satellites in the future.

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NASA rocket takes first multi-point look inside radio-disrupting clouds

High above Earth, thin veils of metallic haze drift through the edge of space. Known as sporadic E layers, these high-altitude “clouds” form from the vaporized dust of burned-up meteors, earning their name from the unpredictable way they emerge and then dissipate. Now, new results from a NASA sounding rocket—a suborbital research rocket—that flew five detectors through one of these layers simultaneously reveal unexpected complexity in the layer for the first time.

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Scientists observe Einstein’s gravity in the quantum world

An international team including Nobel Prize-winning physicist Professor Sir Roger Penrose has observed a long-predicted effect of gravity on a falling quantum object for the first time. The result shows that a fundamental principle at the heart of Einstein’s theory of gravity remains consistent with the behavior of matter in the quantum world. The study, led by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, the University of Ulm and the University of Oxford, was published today (Sept. 2) in Science Advances.

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Sorry, this neutrino laser won’t work, physicists say

Neutrinos are pervasive yet intangible particles that permeate the universe, streaming through whole planets, stars and our bodies by the trillions each second. The elementary particles are often described as “ghostly” for their near-zero mass and elusive nature, as they have very little interaction with normal matter.

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Young sunlike system reveals comets may carry water toward forming planets

Astronomers at Lund University in Sweden have found evidence of exocomets—comets in other solar systems—orbiting a young star similar to our sun. The observations point to a possible mechanism for how water might be transported from the cold outer regions of the planetary system to regions where planets form.

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Video: Wash. deputy uses PIT, tackles fleeing robbery suspect

Dash camera video shows the suspect being quickly tackled by the pursuing King County deputy after attempting to flee the vehicle

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